November 15

Today is my grandma's 100th birthday. 100! 

I asked her how it felt to be a member of the Century Club and she thought about the question for half a second before she gave a partial grin and quipped back 'tiring!' That's my grandma for ya.

Anyway, we had a nice little drop-in style birthday party for her at her house that was arranged by my mom. Although it was something of a yucky weather day, a number of her friends from various areas of her life braved the cold and rain to stop by for pizza, cake, and to share their well-wishes (and in some cases, some stories, too). Some were new faces to me, while others were folks I knew during my childhood, including some from church, 4-H, and the Home Arts building at the county fair (among others). It was quite the blast from the past, and I enjoyed those quick catch-ups.

After the friends departed, we had a quiet evening with just family, including my mom, brothers, sister-in-law, niece, and my Aunt Arlene, who came in from Nebraska for the occasion. We presented grandma with a second birthday cake and had her blow out another set of 10 candles, one for each decade (phew!). And snapped some more photos for posterity's sake.

When I first arrived in the early afternoon, she told me that she'd never had a birthday party before -- she'd been to parties as a child for other children, but never had one of her own. (She mused that it was because November 15 was the first day of duck hunting season, which took her father out of the equation.) So I think it's lovely that she finally had one at 100. And I hope she enjoyed it and felt appreciated, because my grandma is certainly someone who deserves to feel appreciated. She's one of the biggest prayer warriors I know and has been a major influence on me with respect to faith. 

So yes, today, I'm thankful for 100 years of my grandma, and for all of the many, many ways she's demonstrated the love of Jesus to others over the course of her lifetime. Happy 100th, grandma!